Carbon Farming

The carbon cycle is a critical natural process that moves carbon through Earth’s atmosphere, biosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere and oceans. Human activity has tipped the balance of the cycle through extracting enormous quantities of deeply sequestered fossil carbon as fossil fuels. These dense forms of carbon, when burned, release massive amounts of energy and carbon dioxide.

More carbon dioxide is now being released than the earth’s land-based plant life and oceans can naturally reabsorb. The excess carbon dioxide has formed a blanket in our atmosphere—trapping the sun’s heat and changing our climate, as seen in shifts in our earth’s jet stream, ocean currents and air temperature. Rainfall patterns are changing and glaciers (water storage for many communities) are melting quickly.

Why is Carbon Farming important?

Carbon Farming has the potential to restore balance within the carbon cycle in a way that will ameliorate climate change, build resilience to drought and increase our agricultural productivity naturally.

Current international data from farming systems and pasture trials around the globe show that we could sequester more than 100% of current annual CO2 emissions with a switch to widely available and inexpensive organic management practices, which we term ‘regenerative organic agriculture.’ — Rodale Report

Carbon Farming in Action

Grass-fed, fiber-producing animals have the potential to graze on managed landscapes where Carbon Farming practices are being implemented, thus creating products that are Climate Beneficial™, by virtue of their integral place in the Carbon Farming system.

For example, implementation of the Bare Ranch Carbon Farm Plan would effectively offset 6 to 9.5 times the GHG emissions associated with Bare Ranch wool production each year. This plan provides a robust framework for the Bare Ranch goal of producing Climate-Beneficial™ wool. Download a PDF of the plan: bare-ranch-cfp-2016